!)is there a way to control which programs load at boot-up?
or is this just another reason why I should go the rooting route?

also, is there a way to keep programs I want shut down, shut down (instead of them popping back up like zombies?) i've read the posts on why killing tasks is unnecessary in android, but i do have the habit of launching programs, especially recently, since I"m mixing and matching, trying out new apps, without using them again, or at least for long periods of time. plus, i'm like hovering between orange/red (recently at 60 MB of RAM free)

2) what's a good music player that
a. sounds good
b. is loud-ish
c. isn't a resource hog?

from my reckoning, while PowerAMP is the loudest/crispest player I've tried yet (stock, Player Pro, PowerAMP, and Winamp), it seems to be a resource hog and a battery drain (relatively). I haven't tried Player Pro long enough yet to know how much resource it consumes, but I have noticed that on my headphones, the sound is less bright as well as much quieter (by like half) than PowerAMP. this is with the DSP enabled and the preamp up. is there like a way to either modify one program or the other to compensate OR is there another player that you'd recommend?

3) I've the stock launcher, Go Launcher, and ADW Launcher EX installed. it seems like it loads the each launcher and associated widgets while I'm in eg ADW launcher. if this is the case, RAM is consumed (though in the background) and might slow the player down. how do i avoid this besides uninstalling...well, i assume that if you haven't rooted this, you can't uninstall the stock player.

3a) for the new release of ADW Launcher Ex, how do you enable the hidden dock? i know that the dev integrated the dock into one main dock. which is ok, but i'd prefer a hidden one. so- are there apps that'd allow you to install a hidden dock? or is there a way to downgrade to the earlier version (1.3.3.55, from my reckoning)

For keeping programs from starting, there are a couple options. A lot of people like freezing them with Titanium Backup. This prevents them from starting, even prevents you from starting them, so for the latter reason I don't like it. I prefer Gemini App Manager. With that, you can see the reasons why a program would start and turn them off. For instance, a lot of programs launch when you get internet connection, even many that have no need to, or many also launch when the screen turns on and off. When you shut those all off, they won't automatically launch, and you can still manually launch the program--very nice! Nothing on mine starts that I don't want.

thanks for the reply.
d/led gemini, but no app block option noted. My guess is that it's available on the website (given that a good number of tasks are AUTO enabled and can't be switched off w/o root access)

2) Been testing PowerAmp (w/ EQ enabled) vs Player Pro w/ DSP

Apps used: Watchdog Lite and PowerTutor
Method: Both players live. One's enabled while the other's paused. Both have widgets and lockscreens enabled. Measurements taken after 5-10 mins passed, Watchdog first, followed by Powertutor (Stat view)

While the general consensus from what I've read and experienced (somewhat) is that Poweramp takes more battery life, the readings (far from standardized and perfect) I've taken for the past 20-30 mins suggest that Player Pro w/ DSP takes more power when you consider that it also requires use of the Media Server. though.....

I should also note that all values fluctuated, and the figure most representative values was the one I recorded (eg if I saw 123mW, 129 mW, 190 mW, 130 mW, ...) I noted the 129 mW figure)
- Also, Poweramp showed great fluctuation. eg. under the Application View in Powertutor w/ the Time Span set at the past minute, it jumped from like 30 to 300 mW, then down to like 50 mW, then back up to 500 mW, then down to 120 mW, etc. Which made trusting the average a bit less ...comfy.
Media server and DSP when Player Pro enabled fluctuated too, but only to like double the low value.

So, it while seems like Poweramp readings suggest that isn't that much more of a battery hog than Player Pro w/ DSP or even less so, you don't see those spikes w/ the latter. Is it fair to assume that those averaged readings from Poweramp is misleading?
While the figures suggest that Poweramp is the less demanding app, the figures are based from an average and since Poweramp seems to "fugde" those figures, I assume that it may prove to be more demanding over the long term.

thanks for the reply.
d/led gemini, but no app block option noted. My guess is that it's available on the website (given that a good number of tasks are AUTO enabled and can't be switched off w/o root access)

2) Been testing PowerAmp (w/ EQ enabled) vs Player Pro w/ DSP

Apps used: Watchdog Lite and PowerTutor
Method: Both players live. One's enabled while the other's paused. Both have widgets and lockscreens enabled. Measurements taken after 5-10 mins passed, Watchdog first, followed by Powertutor (Stat view)

While the general consensus from what I've read and experienced (somewhat) is that Poweramp takes more battery life, the readings (far from standardized and perfect) I've taken for the past 20-30 mins suggest that Player Pro w/ DSP takes more power when you consider that it also requires use of the Media Server. hm.

I should also note that all values fluctuated, and the figure most representative values was the one I recorded (eg if I saw 123mW, 129 mW, 190 mW, 130 mW, ...) I noted the 129 mW figure)
- Also, Poweramp showed great fluctuation. eg. under the Application View in Powertutor w/ the Time Span set at the past minute, it jumped from like 30 to 300 mW, then down to like 50 mW, then back up to 500 mW, then down to 120 mW, etc. Which made trusting the average a bit less ...comfy.
Media server and DSP when Player Pro enabled fluctuated too, but only to like double the low value.

So, it seems like Poweramp isn't that much more of a battery hog than Player Pro w/ DSP, tho you don't see those spikes, which I'm sure isn't great for the battery.... is this a correct assumption or am I missing something here?